SANDAKAN: The implementation of the BUDI MADANI RON95 (BUDI95) initiative for the first group involving Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) personnel went smoothly without any issues as of noon today.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the first day of implementation also served as a stress test for the system and petrol stations that had made preparations ahead of the wider rollout of BUDI95 on Tuesday.
“We can consider this as a process to assess the system’s capacity so there will be no disruptions.
“We will observe further when it is used more widely among Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) cash contribution recipients,” he told reporters after inspecting the implementation of the BUDI95 programme at Petronas Jalan Bokara here today.
About 300,000 military and police personnel began enjoying subsidised RON95 petrol at RM1.99 per litre under BUDI95, which came into effect at midnight, compared with the current market price of RM2.05.
Following military and police personnel, STR recipients in the B40 group will begin receiving the subsidy on Sept 28, followed by 16 million Malaysians aged 16 and above with a MyKad and valid driving licence on Sept 30.
In a related development, Saifuddin Nasution said a total of 13,632 replacements of MyKad with damaged chips were recorded over the past five days.
“Before the call for citizens to renew or replace faulty MyKad, the average number of replacements was around 1,000 a day. However, from Sept 21 until now, the figure has reached 13,632,” he said.
He said the sharp increase clearly showed the public’s awareness of the need to have a functional MyKad for use under the BUDI95 scheme.
Meanwhile, commenting on the sanctions imposed by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) against the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and seven naturalised players, Saifuddin Nasution said the Home Ministry (KDN) processes applications for citizenship strictly in line with the Federal Constitution under Article 19(1) on naturalisation.
He stressed that the granting of citizenship is a highly meticulous process carried out based on the country’s legal framework.
“The granting of citizenship through naturalisation under Article 19(1) of the Federal Constitution can be applied for if the applicant has ancestral lineage that can be traced back to Malaysia,” he said.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee sanctioned FAM and seven national players after being found to have violated Article 22 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) concerning falsified documents.
In a statement, FIFA said FAM had submitted forged documents to validate the eligibility of certain players, enabling them to be fielded in official matches.- Bernama
